Wildwood Valley Gardens
A Botanical Jewel for Eternal Remembrance
Intertwined with the stream and paths connecting Bellefontaine’s upper and lower lakes, Wildwood Valley Gardens is a serene memorial space focused on honoring loved ones. As a dedicated Botanical Garden within the Arboretum, Wildwood Valley Gardens offers traditional burial, natural burial, and cremation options for both individuals and families who wish to be memorialized in this one-of-a-kind place.
Design, Contemplation, Community
The gardens were designed by award-winning landscape architect Herb Schaal, with gardens by William Cullina. The design invokes the timeless, restorative serenity of nature and serves as a public space:
Winding Water
A meandering stream connects the lakes, with fountains and flowing pools for a calming auditory experience.
Visual Beauty
Curving walls, grassy terraces, and thousands of plants create an immersive, and educational botanical environment.
Contemplative Spaces
Shaded seating nooks, benches, and lakeside spots offer tranquil, picnic-perfect areas for quiet reflection.
Versatility
The area accommodates cremation, traditional, and natural burial, all within a curated garden setting.
Natural and Traditional Burial Options
WWVG provides specialized in-ground burial spaces, accommodating both natural and traditional interment needs:
Bulb Garden Green Burial
This selection truly captures the spirit of environmentally conscious burial, offering individuals the opportunity to rest eternally beneath a rich and varied landscape adorned with seasonal flowers and lush grasses. This serene setting not only provides a peaceful final resting place but also nurtures a profound bond with the earth, celebrating the intricate beauty of nature that surrounds and sustains us. It invites loved ones to remember and honor their connection to the natural world, creating a lasting legacy that harmonizes with the cycles of life and the changing seasons.
Family Estates
Situated majestically on the highest terrace, these spacious estates offer a serene and picturesque environment, accommodating a diverse range of interment choices. Whether one prefers the eco-friendly approach of Natural Burial, the time-honored traditions of conventional burial, or the increasingly popular option of cremation, these estates provide a respectful and tranquil setting for honoring the memories of loved ones, ensuring that each individual's final resting place reflects their personal beliefs and desires.
Garden Lawn Crypts
Designed specifically for couples who value the ease and practicality of a pre-installed outer container (vault), this choice not only simplifies the traditional burial process but also provides peace of mind, ensuring that all necessary arrangements are taken care of in advance, allowing loved ones to focus on honoring their memories without added stress.
Integrated Memorialization
The innovative design of niche fronts and garden wall panels serves to not only simplify but also enrich the experience of memorialization throughout the Valley, providing families and friends with a serene and beautiful space to honor their loved ones, while ensuring that the process is both seamless and deeply personal for everyone involved.
Landmark Architecture and Unique Memorials
Wildwood Valley Gardens features some of the most exclusive and celebrated architectural landmarks on our grounds, offering private, custom memorialization and public contemplation areas:
Private Statuary Gardens
Tucked throughout the lower terrace, these highly exclusive alcoves provide opportunities for deeply personal custom statuary and specialized memorialization, set beautifully alongside cremation burial.
Unique Timepieces
The modern 'Continuum' structure overlooking Cascade Lake, precisely marks the equinoxes and solstices, and the elegant Gene Mackey sundial are both powerful symbols of the passage of time.
Custom Monuments
Family Estates provide the opportunity for truly custom monuments, allowing for memorialization ranging from delicate animal and angel statues to grand, impressive family memorials.
Unique Engravings
Engraved stone panels accommodate lasting memorial messages along the winding paths and elegant, curved stone-clad memorial walls that flow throughout the gardens.
Cremation Placement Options
Wildwood Valley Gardens is positioned at the heart of Bellefontaine’s most popular cremation placement solutions:
Lakeside Columbarium
This open-air columbarium is nestled between Cascade and Cypress Lakes and features an Infinity Fountain at its center, with over 350 niches suitable for up to two sets of cremated remains.
Garden Cremation Burial
Accommodates in-ground scattering or burial in bio-degradable urns, with memorialization on a dedicated panel on the adjacent garden wall.
Family Cremation Nooks
These family-style cremation gardens are semi-private, exclusive alcoves that may accommodate from 6 to 16+ cremations, offering unique memorialization.
Integrated Memorialization
Niche fronts and garden wall panels are designed to simplify and streamline memorialization throughout the Valley.
Wildwood Valley Gardens Interment Pricing
- Family Cremation Nooks (Private Alcoves): Beginning at $50,000 per nook (accommodates 6–16+ cremations).
- Family Estates (Traditional/Natural Burial): Lots beginning at $20,000
- Single In-Ground Graves: Beginning at $5,000
- Garden Lawn Crypts (Double-Depth): Beginning at $7,500 (Includes two rights of interment)
- Cremation Placement (Niche or Burial): Beginning at $4,000 for the first right of interment.